Galateia claims 2025 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge

In another close-run edition, the 2025 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge (MMIC) concluded with last week’s Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez and was won by David M Leuschen and Chris Flowers’ 100ft Galateia. This broke a long run of victories of this prestigious series by International Maxi Association President Benoît de Froidmont’s Wallyño, its winner in 2019, 2023 and 2024. In fact only once before has it been won by a boat other than Wallyño – Alessandro Del Bono’s Capricorno in 2022.

The MMIC annually comprises five events: the Real Club Nautico de Palma's Sandberg Palmavela in May, followed by the inshore racing components of both the IMA Maxi Europeans in Sorrento and Loro Piana Giragia in June. To be eligible for this challenge, all MMIC contenders must be International Maxi Association members and are obliged to compete in September's Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. The series concludes back on the Cote d'Azur with Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

 

Over 2025, Galateia competed in four of the five MMIC events, scoring well throughout but setting up her MMIC victory when she was crowned Rolex IMA Maxi 1 World Champion during the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in September. All nearly unravelled when she was involved in a start-line collision between Alessandro Del Bono’s JV80 Capricorno and the race committee boat on the opening day of Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. She was hurriedly delivered down the coast to La Ciotat where a metre long selection of her hull at the waterline was repaired and she returned to Saint-Tropez in time for racing last Thursday.

In the final tally of the 2025 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge Galateia ended the season on 319.99 points, beating Karel Komárek’s second-placed Wallycento V on 312.75 (ie by just 2.3%) with Capricorno third. George Sakellaris’ Proteus was top Maxi Grand Prix class yacht finishing fourth, having led going into Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. Jean-Pierre Barjon’s Botin 65 Spirit of Lorina, which won the IMA’s 2024-25 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge after it concluded with Palermo-Montecarlo in August, was also doing well in the MMIC, relishing the prospect of becoming the first maxi ever to win both the MMIC and MMOC in one season, however she ended up fifth in the inshore series.  

Launched in 2015, Galateia was originally built for David M Leuschen who brought in his friend Chris Flowers as co-owner after recognising that to ensure both Galateia and her crew remained in top racing form throughout the season, they should race as much as possible and keep developing their white 100 footer. Thus  Galateia is regularly campaigned both in the Med during the summer and in the Caribbean over the winter with one or other owner helming, although this year Flowers’ daughter Lizz has also enthusiastically taken to driving.

“Obviously we had a tough week this week - it was heartbreaking what happened on the first day,” said Galateia tactician Kelvin Harrap of their first day collision at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. “But we've got some really key people in the team who did an amazing job to get the hole fixed and good shore support. It was about a metre long repair. We were very lucky.” The Galateia team acknowledged and thanked the Capricorno crew for their support following the incident.

As to their season Harrap recalled: “The Worlds we sailed well and I thought the [IMA Maxi] European Championship in Sorrento, we did really well too. Between V and ourselves, we both have good regattas and bad regattas. We have to keep improving: V's a fast boat, and I think we push each other a lot and that's a good thing for these two 100 footers. It is pretty amazing given our boats are 10 years old now.”

Returning to Europe from the Caribbean where Harrap recognised “we got our butts kicked”, they made a number of improvements to Galateia. This included the fitting of an interceptor (a tiny wedge that runs around the hull at the transom), as well as adjusting the fore and aft position of the 3+ tonnes of water ballast she carries plus further optimisation of her sail program, working with Richard Bouzaid from Doyle Sails as well as others within the team. The team also has a strong afterguard including Markus Weiser and Murray Jones.

Looking ahead Galateia is set to do three events in the Caribbean including the Nelson’s Cup in Antigua in mid-February then St Barth Bucket followed by the North Sound Maxi Regatta in mid-March before returning to Europe to see if she can defend her title.  

Overall results from the 2025 IMA Mediterranean Maxi Inshore Challenge here